IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v81y2024icp947-963.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can the government environmental vertical reform reduce air pollution? A quasi-natural experiment in China

Author

Listed:
  • You, Chen
  • Cifuentes-Faura, Javier
  • Liu, Xiaoqian
  • Wu, Jinqun

Abstract

Addressing environmental challenges is crucial for mitigating and adapting to the consequences of climate change. The existing literature investigates whether government environmental reform can address environmental problems but yields conflicting findings. This study examines the effect of government environmental vertical reform (GEVR) on air pollution. Using city-county mergers in China as a quasi-natural experiment, satellite imagery, and socio-economic data from 2000 to 2016, we observe that GEVR reduces a noteworthy 4% air pollution in reformed counties based on a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) design. Mechanism analysis reveals that GEVR cuts air pollutant emissions by optimizing resource inputs and mitigating the impact of polluting firms. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates whether the reformed counties located at administrative boundaries and the reform strategy influence the effectiveness of GEVR. In the future, policymakers should contemplate suitable government environmental reforms to tackle forthcoming climate change challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • You, Chen & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Liu, Xiaoqian & Wu, Jinqun, 2024. "Can the government environmental vertical reform reduce air pollution? A quasi-natural experiment in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 947-963.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:81:y:2024:i:c:p:947-963
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2023.12.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592623003284
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2023.12.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:81:y:2024:i:c:p:947-963. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.